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Wisconsin appeals court says regulators must develop PFAS restrictions before mandating clean-up.
The DNR came in and told a Dry Cleaner that they had to test the groundwater for PFAS. The DNR told them to run tests, but not which ones. You could be looking at hundreds of different tests.
Well the feds wanted them to run them all. At their cost.The dry cleaner along with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business group, sued the DNR in 2021. They argued the agency lacked any basis in state law or rules to impose such mandates. The DNR countered that it could unilaterally force testing because the Spills Law gives the agency broad authority to protect the environment.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren sided with the dry cleaner in 2022, saying the DNR needs to impose limits on PFAS through the rule-making process. He ordered that the ruling be stayed until all appeals are exhausted. His decision was upheld by the Appeals Court.
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